Rubbish. They propose a membership with one lesson a week and unlimited access for extra practice. When I was applying at the reception, the information I inserted into the tablet didn't go through, they asked me to wait. I saw the receptionist serve a few more customers before coming back to me and asking me again what I was waiting for. "Nothing we can do at the moment, wait for an email" was the response. What I was waiting for then? Apparently, you need a PIN to book your extra sessions or you have to pay for it. I called for information, and the girl asked me if I had a card, when I was talking she cut the communication. I called back but no more answers. I applied for the card online, but nothing happened. Subsequently, I went to the centre and the staff was listless, arrogant, rude, snobbish and unprofessional. From them, I never received emails, cards or anything else. The day I was waiting at the reception a couple came and I heard that the woman was a member and somehow the man was benefiting from her card or in some other way. The receptionist was quite clear when he stated his free access. Not to mention that I had to test my skills twice, almost three times because there was no communication between the instructor and the receptionist. A hot potato. Should you pay for this? Obviously, this swimming pool leaks water everywhere read more

Willesden Sports Centre is part owned by Harpers Fitness and part owned by Brent Council. It has been around for a long time, but got a complete renovation a few years back. I have been a member for around a year and a half and enjoy coming here! The centre has a decent sized gym, with all the usual cardio and weight equipment, a big indoor swimming pool and a smaller kids pool, both indoor and outdoor running tracks, a martial arts studio, sauna and steam rooms and a cafe. They also offer a variety of group classes (such as yoga, pilates, revolutions, step, body combat etc etc) and have a number of on-site personal trainers. The staff are really friendly, and there is a real sense of community amongst the members and staff. I invariably end up having a few good chats along with my workout whenever I go! As the centre is part-owned by council there are often a lot of school kids about, practising on the tracks for the athletics team or running club on certain days after school, however they aren't allowed in the gym, and even if they are training on the tracks from, say 6-7pm, they normally leave a lane free for others to run in. The swimming pool can get busy, but again, there are always lanes dedicated to serious swimmers. There is also a room where you can play badminton, basketball etc and there are often clubs for kids held here. So if you live in the area and don't have a membership yet, then now's the time to get fit! On your marks, get set.....GO! read more

This place is convenient for me and my family. It has some very good facilities and classes which we take advantage of. At the same time there are some small details which let it down. One example... the lockers have keys attached to a piece of plastic. You lock it, go away and realise you cant actually read the locker number on the plastic as it has worn out due to swimming and other activities. Did the gym/locker people not think of this inconvenience?? For a gym to get little things like this wrong and it has been like this since it opened is disappointing and especially when you cant find your belongings!!! I use the centre for swimming for lessons for my kids as well as swimming generally with them. For lessons we use Harpers and I cant say I'm impressed with them. For half an hour we have a disinterested swimming instructor who hardly looks at the kids. I'm sure not all the instructors are like this but I don't rate this one. You leave messages with the Harpers team to change/query classes and they dont return your calls... I bet they do for new customers. When swimming generally (ie not lessons) there isn't much space as most if it is taken by swimming schools. Sometimes the space given to non-school swimmers and especially at weekends is just simply ridiculous. This should be reviewed but I doubt it is given any consideration. Some of the classes are good. My other half has been to a few classes (Body Conditioning/Body Pump) which she enjoys. My kids do gymnastics and they love it. I dont expect this gym to be at the level of a Cannons or LA Fitness but I do expect them to get some of the basics right. Could be so much better! read more

READ THIS BEFORE YOU DECIDE, PLEASE. AVOID AVOID AVOID Extremely poor customer service, Rude, unprofessional and disrespectful staff especially in the afternoon. I went to the desk for a query about my children membership and was blatantly avoided by the receptionist when seeking for further help. Also, she whispered to the other member of the staff that I am stupid (because I asked questions) I didn't argue with her nor gave her any further attention as I realised that I can't lower my self to that level. Unfortunately my children have one year contract. PLEASE NOTE: THE CONTRACT CAN'T BE CANCELLED, in conclusion I do not recommend this place at all. read more

BEWARE anyone parking at Willesden Sports Centre - a company called Met parking services has been employed to manage parking. They are extremely aggressive in ticketing people - I was parked slightly outside a bay collecting kids from an athletics activity for about 10 minutes at 8.30 in the evening - the car park was half empty- I returned to find a ticket on my car and lost the appeal . £100 just like that - unbelievable THIS IS NOT A COMMUNITY SPIRITED COMPANY AND IT SEEMS UNREASONABLE THAT THEY ARE IN A POSITION TO BE OPERATING AT THIS CENTRE read more

After undergoing refurbishment the gym, and pool and associated rooms got an overhaul. Also the track and field area and seating also looks so much better,giving the kids much better facilities. We still use the swimming pool area, at less busier times read more

The swimming pool at Willesden has been considerably downsized in the refurbishment and it is now very difficult to find a time when there is enough space for a intermediate-to-advanced swimmer to find space. This is really disappointing as I used to swim regularly and now find it rather difficult. Even when there are meant to be free lanes, activities such as water aerobics often chase children into the swimming lanes leaving no space for anyone else. I am also disappointed in the £30 p/m cost of the gym seeing as there is a subscription gym down the road. I understand this isn't bad for a gym but it gives younger people or the unemployed less chance of being able to use a gym as the last one at Willesden was considerably cheaper. read more

Have been a member for over 3 years and have found the staff helpful and they greet me when I come in either early morning or during the day.The life guards and instructors have been very helpful as I have had difficulties in the pass while swimming Over fifties aqua class excellent twice a week instructor brilliant,a fun way to stay fit and meet others. I have mobility issues and find the class perfect in keeping me mobile and strengthening of my legs. Would love a extra class on Monday daytime. read more

There are a number of things that fails this swimming pool: 1/ Staff: not friendly. They have no incentive to make this a nice place for the public. They are rude. Some of the Harper staff are rude as well. I saw a Harper instructor drag out a 7-8 year old boy out of the ladies changing room (he was waiting quietly on a bench for his mum). The boy was crying for his mum. All the Harper instructor said was: I don't care about your mum you should not be in the ladies changing room Obviously the mum then argued with the instructor , which doesn't help to bring a nice atmosphere to the place. With the staff not being helpful and respectful of this place, this means that the general public do not respect the place either. Only the staff can turn this around. This leads me to the next point: cleanliness (or the lack thereof). 2/ Not Clean/ ladies changing room filthy: in the ladies changing room people walk in and out of wet areas with their shoes from outside without using the plastic shoes provided at the entrance. The floor is dirty and people trash tissues, pens, used soapwithout bothering to use the bins. As the place is not cleaned frequently enough there are remains of hair lying around. Basically, not a nice place to try to change into a swimsuit. Staff are not encouraged to ensure people remove their shoes before entering wet areas. 3/ Swimming: if you are going for a swim (as opposed to playing and shouting in the water) FORGET IT. There are not enough lanes for swimming. When it is supposed to be available for the general public, generally only one or two are available. Other lanes are either taken up by Harper/ or other classes. When you do manage to swim, a lot of the time, people don't respect the clockwise or anti-clockwise signs, which means you end up bumping into people frequently. Since the staff can't be bothered to tell people who are not respecting the signs it's down to you to do their job or bump into people Without expecting this place to be like a private gym, if you think you are going there to have some quiet time swimming and enjoying yourself, this is not the place. I am a great believer in public swimming pools as opposed to private ones, but this one fails the test on all counts! I'd rather go a bit further away and be in a nice place without the constant shouting. This place could have been a nice place for people from all backgrounds of the community to gather but instead it is a nightmare! read more

I'm giving this place 2 stars only because of their facilities. The gym is well equipped and you will find more or less every machine you need as well as a decent sized weights area. The swimming pool is a good size and they also have a sauna and steam room. However those are the only positives about this place. The gym itself is filthy - even first thing in the morning. There's grime in between all the machines which shows someone has just half cleaned the area; there is also dust and dirt on the machines themselves. I've personally left a piece of paper in between two machines to see how long it would go without being cleaned away and it was there for 9 days before it was spotted. The staff is abysmal. Literally no one cares, they stroll around killing time on their phone or conversing with each other. They are so confrontational and downright rude its like they are actively trying to get fired. Such a shame that this establishment is completely let down by its terrible staff but they don't seem to care as a lot of the reviews on here and on other sites talk about the (lack of) quality in the staff and yet they are all still in employment ! read more

I am suprised by how small the swimming pool at Willesden is and most of the time there's barely enough space to swim as it's so packed. Every other area of the centre has improved considerably, so it just saddens me that the pool is so small as this is the facility most people use. The changing room facilities are considerably better though. read more

Awful place. Even when visiting during the day, there are never any free machines, and the staff are rude and unhelpful. I joined on a flexible membership, and decided to cancel, giving over a months notice via the web form on the website. I hear nothing for 2 and a half months, before receiving a ridiculously over the top message demanding payment for another month, threatening me with legal action. Incredibly bad service, old and dirty machines, and most things seem to be broken. Avoid! read more

The new sports centres is a pleasure to use and cheaper than most gyms in the area with better facilities. It is a popular place but surely that tells you that it is a good place to go. I have seen comments about the swimming pool but even though it can be busy the pool is the same size pool as other places so don't know how it can be oto small and it is the same size as the old pool as I used that one, it just might appear smaller as the hall itself is smaller. Great place to go and enjoy a range of activities. Great to see people from a range of cultures all mixing well together. Although reception staff need to smile more even though they are so busy all the time. read more

The centre although being nearly 3 yrs old still in great condition. It is a very vibrant centre with excellent facilities. Do not know of another like it in the area. Competitive prices, even kids swim free, and great to use indoor track when raining. Yes centre is busy but who wants to train in a souless place. Staff are busy and try there best. Must be said some of the community do not help by missusing kit but on the whole the centre has great family feel. read more

The swimming pool is not up to standard. I frequently find the lanes are packed, and that being in a lane of higher ability makes no difference often sharing with breast-stroke and back-stroke people. Today there were only two lanes free due to water aerobics, however people from the water aerobics were allowed to take over the slow lane, forcing everyone to go around them. People frequently swim down the middle of lanes and the pool is generally not very clean. The staff around the pool are rude and unhelpful. read more

The exercise room here is fine, nothing fancy but provides what you need for a basic workout. Most of the connections that allow you to listen to the TVs through the machines are broken. I have to say, however, that the staff here has been unbelievably difficult to deal with. It was very easy to join and begin my membership, but it has taken 5 MONTHS for them to process my cancellation (and I'm only on the month to month plan!). It has been incredibly frustrating and I continue to be stunned by the complete lack of service. I have sent literally twenty emails to date and called at various times every day for 4 weeks trying to speak to someone to get my matter attended to and not ONCE has anyone picked up the phone EVER. It is shocking. I can't believe that five months on I am still being charged and still have not been able to resolve this. When I have gone in person the manager is not there and I am given the main phone number to call no direct line and since no one has ever actually answered the main line, I am not able to speak with anyone. I have spoken with staff in person on six occasions to ask them to pass on this information to the manager. And still my bank account was debited this morning for yet another month's fee. So all this considered, based on the highly unprofessional and astoundingly unresponsive staff, I must strongly warn people to reconsider joining. read more